Administration

Retired general: Trump ‘an absolutely terrible commander in chief’

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/07/26 2:59 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/07/26 2:59 PM ET

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A retired U.S. general slammed President Trump on Tuesday for being an “absolutely terrible commander in chief” after Trump threatened Iran’s “whole civilization” ahead of his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and negotiate a peace agreement.

CNN’s Kate Bolduan asked Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson about his reaction to Trump’s heightened rhetoric. The president was doubling down on an earlier warning to Iran after giving them until 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday to agree to a deal.

“Well, we already knew that Donald Trump was a pretty bad president, but now we know that he’s an absolutely terrible commander in chief as well,” he answered. “I mean, he continues to vacillate –– offers contradictory messaging about what’s going on and does he support the Iranian people? Does he not? Does he support regime change? Does he not? Are the allies with us? Does he need them? It goes on and on and on.”

“This guy is just not competent in terms of leading this force,” Anderson continued. “He has not set clear objectives, clear definable objectives, that the military can truly execute.”

Trump warned earlier in the day that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” He wrote in the same Truth Social post that he hopes that “now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

Anderson predicted Trump will extend the deadline because Trump cannot do what he said he will do, “which is to bomb every single civilian target in the theater in Iran.”

“I’m old enough to remember the Nuremberg trials and how we’ve held the Germans accountable after what they — the atrocities they committed during World War II,” the retired general added.

The Nuremberg trials brought Nazi officials to justice following the end of World War II. Former German officials accused of war crimes went on trial, with 13 held before the International Military Tribunal from 1945 to 1949, according to the National World War II Museum’s website. Several Nazi leaders were charged and convicted with crimes against humanity and war crimes, among others.

“And I’d hate to think, you know, five, 10 years from now, we’d be doing the same kind of thing with American soldiers and leaders that made decisions that were being directed by the president of the United States that are illegal,” Anderson said.

Trump’s ominous threat was met with a wave of criticism from Democrats, who condemned it as “genocidal” or presenting the possibility of committing war crimes. Democratic members of Congress also called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which prompts the removal of the president from power.

“After bombing a school and massacring young girls, the war criminal in the White House is threatening genocide,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) wrote on social platform X, referring to a U.S. attack on a girls’ elementary school in Iran following the start of the war.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) specifically called on the White House to clarify if it will use nuclear weapons in its attack on Iran. The White House later criticized the suggestion that nuclear weapons would fall on Tehran as part of the president’s threat.

Iranian officials have remained defiant against Trump’s warnings. Iranian officials also called on the populace to form human chains around power plants to protect energy infrastructure ahead of the deadline.

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